Mussante and Stam Lead Women’s Track at SSC Championships

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Florida Southern College women's track team competed in the inaugural Sunshine State Conference Outdoor Track Championships hosted by Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Moccasins finished fifth as a team while seniors Emma Mussante and Mya Stam earned Second Team All-SSC honors for their respective performances in the 5,000m and 10,000m.
 
The Moccasins scored in just five of the 12 events including four events in which FSC did not qualify for due to being a distance-focused program. The University of Tampa took home the team championship with 157 points followed by the host Embry-Riddle which scored 114 points. Nova Southeastern (81 pts.) rounded out the top-three. Lynn (44 pts.) finished just ahead of the Mocs who scored 36 total points. The final two teams were Barry (20 pts.) and Palm Beach Atlantic (8).
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Location: Embry-Riddle Track & Field Complex | Daytona Beach, Fla.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• The opening event of the inaugural SSC Championships was the 10,000m starting at 7 a.m. The Mocs sent three runners to the line as the trio combined to pick up 12 points towards the team championship. The event proved to be the highest scoring event of the day for the Mocs, tied with the 5,000m which also saw 12 team points. Senior Mya Stam was first to cross the line at 37:41.63 to claim third place and six points. The individual champion in each event is named First Team All-SSC while the second and third place finishers earn Second Team honors. Graduate student Ellie Fluman finished two spots back in fifth with a time of 38:15.48 to score four points. The final Moccasin finisher was sophomore Emma Pfeiffer who placed seventh overall while picking up two points. The Middlebury, Conn. native turned in a time of 38:58.01.
• The only other event the Mocs competed in during the morning session was the 3,000m steeplechase which saw junior Rachel Hockenberry just miss out on All-Conference honors as she took fourth overall. The Sewickley, Pa., native crossed the finish in 11:50.35 which scored five points for the Mocs. The time was the third-fastest in program history and top time this season by FSC.
• The opening event of the evening session was the 4x100m relay which FSC has never competed in according to the FSC Record Book. Graduate student Cheyenne Young, freshman Heloise Pinto, sophomore Ashley Girouard and graduate student Jinia Johnson teamed up to complete the relay in 57.49 while placing sixth overall. The finish earned FSC three points toward the team championship.
• The final individual event in which the Mocs scored points was the 5,000m as FSC sent five student-athletes to the start line. Senior Emma Mussante led the way as she placed second while scoring eight points for the Mocs. Her time of 17:29.04 was ninth all-time at FSC as well. Fluman came in four spots back in sixth while scoring points for the second time of the day. She tallied three points in the 5K while crossing the finish in 18:05.15. The final scorer was sophomore Grace Reed who clocked in just nine seconds behind Fluman at 18:14.84 to place eighth and score one point. The final two finishers for FSC just missed out on points as Stam and Hockenberry finished ninth and 10^th, respectively. Stam clocked in at 18:17.97 while Hockenberry finished the distance in 18:27.39.
• The final event of the night was the final scoring event for the Mocs as FSC picked up four points in the 4x400m relay. Sophomore Flavia Almeida, sophomore Kira Mothershed, junior Caitlin Beery and Pinto teamed up for a school record time of 4:09.13 while placing fifth overall.
• FSC sent four runners to the line in the 1,500m but none were able to finish inside the top-eight. Mothershed and Beery were FSC's top finishers as they placed 10^th and 11^th, respectively. Mothershed crossed the finish in 4:51.96 while Beery came across in 4:52.53. The final two Moccasins finished back-to-back as well. Freshmen Alena Pezzoli (4:58.35) and Katrina Machado (4:59.53) crossed the line in 13^th and 14^th, respectively.
• Two Moccasins saw action in the 400m as Pinto and Girouard entered the event. Pinto took 15^th overall while posting the seventh-fastest time in program history at 1:02.40. Girouard finished six seconds later at 1:08.82 while placing 20^th.
• The only other event the Moccasins competed in was the 800m which saw four Mocs in action. Mothershed led the way in 15^th while clocking in at 2:25.67. Almeida came in two spots back at 17^th with a time of 2:26.47. The final two finishers were Beery (20^th/2:29.58) and Johnson (25^th/2:38.44).

 
UP NEXT:
The Moccasins will be back in action Friday and Saturday, April 25-26, at the Knights Invite hosted by UCF in Orlando, Fla.